Nutrition

When it comes to food allergies get your facts straight

A recent survey found that more than two-thirds of U.S. adults mistakenly believe that daily medicine can be taken to prevent a food allergy reaction, one of the key findings of the survey was a widespread lack of knowledge and awareness about food allergy among the general public.

The online survey of 2,148 adults also found that nearly half of respondents incorrectly believed that there is a cure for food allergy. More than 40 percent wrongly said that life-threatening allergic reactions could be prevented through means other than strict allergen avoidance, the researchers noted.

"The public's food allergy knowledge and awareness is critical to the safety of children with food allergy, especially since 76 percent of food allergy-related deaths follow consumption of foods outside of the home.

Read the rest of the article: U.S.News & World Report

Kids know healthy foods!

Despite not always eating what’s good for them, kids know healthy foods from those that aren’t considered healthy. A new report by foodservice consultant Technomic and kid-focused brand marketing agency C3 finds that nearly nine out of ten kids surveyed say that fresh vegetables and fresh whole fruits are healthy. Other foods named healthy by kids included salad (78 percent), steamed vegetables (76 percent) and eggs (72 percent). At least half said that fish, cheese, chicken and peanut butter are healthy as well.

The report was developed using data gathered in a May 2009 survey of 1,500 moms and 1,200 kids ages 6 to 12. Other interesting findings include:

• Salads are now among the leading entrée items on kids’ menus at the Top 250 full-service restaurants. They chiefly appeal to kids at the higher end of the kids’ menu age range.

• Older kids ages 10 to 12 have different meal preferences than smaller children. When given the opportunity to “build a meal,” older kids are far more likely than younger ones to choose steak, seafood and salads. Children age 9 and under prefer chicken fingers, pizza and French fries.

Aside from the growth of healthy side-item options, much of the development around healthier fare is in kids’ beverage selections and in increasing the number of items described as organic or natural.
Fast-casual and family-style restaurants overall were perceived by moms to be less kid-friendly than quick-service restaurants. In the quick-service segment, Chick-fil-A and McDonald’s rated excellent along most kid-related attributes. Fuddrucker’s was the only fast-casual brand to be considered kid-friendly by about half of moms (48 percent). Applebee’s was recognized as the most kid-friendly restaurant in the family-style format.
For moms, the key elements in the brand decision across all restaurant segments were consistent food quality, restaurant cleanliness, value and consistently good service.

Read more:
Kids & Moms Consumer Trend Report (Family Attitudes and Motivations in Foodservice) 

New grocery products containing antioxidants and polyphenols coming

Herbal extract supplier Sabinsa has received GRAS status for its curcumin antioxidant ingredient, an extract of turmeric roots. Turmeric has a long history of use in folk medicine for the treatment of wounds, infections, and other health problems. This opens the doors in the US for use in food and beverage applications, including baked goods, milk products, fats and oils, jams and jellies, gelatins and puddings, soups, snacks, candy, frozen dairy, imitation dairy, non-alcoholic beverages and seasonings and flavors.

Sabinsa’s branded Curcumin C3 Complex is an extract of turmeric roots standardized to 95 percent curcuminoids. These are phenolic compounds that are thought to provide antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits, as well as support a healthy immune system. Recent studies have investigated its potential to lower cholesterol levels, improve cardiovascular health, reduce the risk of Alzheimer's and diabetes as well as cancer-fighting properties.

Some studies

Over the last couple of years, curcumin has been linked to a range of health benefits, including potential protection against prostate cancer (Clinical Cancer Research, 2008:14 - using Sabinsa's Curcumin C3 Complex), Alzheimer’s (Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, 2006, Vol. 10, pp. 1-7; American Journal of Epidemiology, 2006, Vol. 164, pp. 898-906), protection against heart failure (Journal of Clinical Investigation, doi: 10.1172/JCI32865); diabetes (Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, 2008, doi: 10.1002/mnfr.200700184); and arthritis (Arthritis & Rheumatism, 2006, Vol. 54, pp. 3452-3464).

Read more:
Curcumin
Turmeric

Green tea extracts linked to healthier bones

Compounds from green tea may lead to stronger bones by promoting bone formation, while also inhibiting bone resorption, which leads to weakening. The study looked at three tea compounds called epigallocatechin (EGC), gallocatechin (GC), and gallocatechin gallate (GCG), and found that EGC produced the greatest bone boosting potential.

"Our study has provided the first laboratory evidence on the bone promotion effects of the green tea catechin EGC as was demonstrated by the promotion of osteoblastic differentiation and inhibition of osteoclast formation,” wrote researchers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong report their findings in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Weakness in the skeletal structure is currently second only to cardiovascular disease in terms of global healthcare burden, according to the World Health Organisation, affecting some 200 million people today but the number of sufferers is set to increase steadily with growing numbers of elderly living longer, and obesity adding extra strain on bones.

Green tea contains between 30 and 40 per cent of water-extractable polyphenols, while black tea (green tea that has been oxidized by fermentation) contains between 3 and 10 per cent.

The four primary polyphenols found in fresh tealeaves are epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), epigallocatechin, epicatechin gallate, and epicatechin.

Read more:
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry

I'm a "whole grain whiz". . .

. . . well at least according to the good folks at General Mills. They have a simple yet educational test on their website EatBetterAmerica.com that will help you understand whole grains and explain the importance of whole grains to your family.

I find that it is a lot easier to meet the dietary guidelines of the USDA's My Pyramid if I understand the various components of what used to me known as the Food Pyramid.  With all of the research going into nutrition now there is a surprising amount of mis-information amongst consumers. It's really no big surprise when you consider that most consumers recieve their nutritional information in the form of commercials between their favorite television programs. Marketers can be very clever in how they label and package their products.

So take a moment like I did to check out whole grains and understand what makes General Mills' line of whole grain cereals so good. If you hurry you can also print free online coupons here for a savings at your grocery store worth $.75 off which when applied to the sales going on in many supermarkets add up to a great savings.

What makes a grain whole?

A whole grain is “whole” if it contains all three parts of the grain kernel:
the bran, the endosperm and the germ. When whole grains are
processed, the bran and germ are often removed, along with all of
their nutrients and much of the fiber. Scientists believe that the fiber,
vitamins, minerals and other substances contained in whole grains
work together to provide maximum nutrition and health benefits

I use oatmeal to help meet my family's nutritional needs. So what makes oatmeal a great choice you ask?

Oats are good for the heart.
Oats help aid weight control.
Oats offer super-charged nutrition.

 Check our site for free grocery coupons on Quaker Oatmeal products.

Read more:
The Whole Grain

Quaker Oat recipe ideas

New statistics show impact of economy on hunger

Over 36 million Americans are forced to skip meals and survive without adequate nutrition. These numbers from a recently released USDA report do not adequately frame the situation for most of us. For those helping in thousands of food assistance centers across the USA it does not cover the growing numbers that are visiting their various agencies for food assistance.

While everyone has felt the impact of the current economic turmoil, this is the time of year when we take pause to appreciate what we do have. Please pause also to reflect on those whom really do need some assistance and donate to your local efforts through the in-store food drops or at a local food agency.

Find your local food agency at FeedingAmerica.org

Salmonella Saintpaul found in serrano peppers also

Laboratory testing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has confirmed that both a sample of serrano pepper and a sample of irrigation water collected by agency investigators on a farm in the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico (business address is in Nuevo Leon, Mexico) contain Salmonella Saintpaul with the same genetic fingerprint as the strain of bacteria that is causing the current outbreak in the United States.

As a result, until further notice, the FDA is advising consumers to avoid raw serrano peppers from Mexico, in addition to raw jalapeño peppers from Mexico, and any foods that contain them.

The test results announced today are part of the FDA's continuing intensive investigation into the outbreak of Salmonella Saintpaul. The investigation has involved tracing back, through complex distribution channels, the origins of products associated with clusters of illness in the United States, as well as inspections and evaluation of farms and facilities in this country and in Mexico, and the collection and testing of environmental and product samples. One of these tracebacks led to a packing facility in Mexico, and to a particular farm, where the agency obtained the samples.

Previously, FDA inspectors collected a positive sample of jalapeño pepper from a produce-distribution center owned by Agricola Zaragosa in McAllen, Texas. The FDA continues to work on pinpointing where and how in the supply chain this first positive jalapeño pepper sample became contaminated. It originated from a different farm in Mexico than the positive samples of serrano pepper and irrigation water.

The FDA is still analyzing many of the samples taken at various farms in Mexico. If laboratory results warrant, the FDA will provide consumers with additional cautions or warnings necessary to protect their health.

On July 17, the FDA announced it had determined that fresh tomatoes now available in the domestic market are not associated with the current outbreak. As a result, the agency removed its June 7 warning against eating certain types of red raw tomatoes.

U.S. grown Jalapeño and Serrano peppers are not connected to Salmonella outbreak

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is advising consumers that jalapeño and Serrano peppers grown in the United States are not connected with the current Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak.

However, the FDA continues to advise consumers to avoid raw jalapeño peppers and the food that contains them if they have been grown, harvested or packed in Mexico.

In addition to domestically grown raw jalapeño peppers, commercially canned, pickled and cooked jalapeño peppers from any and all geographic locations also are not connected with the current Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak.

The FDA is working with state regulatory agencies and food industry groups that represent restaurants, grocery stores and wholesalers to ensure everyone clearly understands this new, more narrow, advisory. The FDA will continue to refine its consumer guidance as the agency’s investigation continues.

The more narrow advisory the FDA is issuing today is based on evidence gathered during a multi-week, intensive investigation conducted in partnership with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and public health authorities in several U.S. states to find the source of the contamination that led to the outbreak. The collective review of the current traceback investigation and harvesting dates, matched with the dates that people became ill, have combined to indicate that the contaminated jalapeño pepper originated in Mexico.

Read more: U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Resveratrol - a sip from the fountain of youth?

The answer to the so-called "French paradox" may be found in red wine. More specifically, it may reside in small doses of resveratrol, a natural constituent of grapes, pomegranates, red wine and other foods, according to a new study by an international team of researchers.

The researchers report that low doses of resveratrol in the diet of middle-aged mice has a widespread influence on the genetic levers of aging and may confer special protection on the heart. Specifically, the researchers found that low doses of resveratrol mimic the effects of what is known as caloric restriction - diets with 20-30 percent fewer calories than a typical diet - that in numerous studies has been shown to extend lifespan and blunt the effects of aging.

In short, a glass of wine or food or supplements that contain even small doses of resveratrol are likely to represent "a robust intervention in the retardation of cardiac aging," the authors note.

That finding may also explain the remarkable heart health of people who live in some regions of France where diets are soaked in saturated fats but the incidence of heart disease, a major cause of mortality in the United States, is low. In France, meals are traditionally complemented with a glass of red wine.

The new resveratrol study is also important because it suggests that caloric restriction, which has been widely studied in animals from spiders to humans, and resveratrol may govern the same master genetic pathways related to aging.

Read more:
Resveratrol - Science Daily - Wikipedia